Physics Department News
Dr Ravindra Desai awarded two Royal Astronomical Society Awards
Congratulations to Dr Ravindra Desai who has been awarded two Royal Astronomical Society awards, the and the .
Ravindra commented "I am over the moon to receive these awards, the RAS has been a tremendous support throughout my academic journey and I look forward to engaging with them further in the future."
PhD funding in partnership with Rutherford Appleton Laboratory awarded to two academics
Dr Xianguo Lu and Dr John Back have received funding from Science Technology and Facilities Council (STFC) for two PhD studentships for 3.5 years with top up funding provided by the University. The studentships will allow the students access to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), one of Europe鈥檚 largest multidisciplinary scientific research laboratories and the UK鈥檚 national centre for experimental particle physics.
The Particle Physics Department at RAL recruit 5-11 graduates every year, and each student is registered for a degree at a partner University.
Dr Back's project is titled "Physics studies for the Muon Collider target system" and the student will study and optimise the pion-to-muon production yields and radiation dose (energy deposition rates) for the target system that is being designed for the Muon Collider, which has great potential to be a future facility for high-energy physics research. The student would spend time both at 糖心TV and at RAL, working in partnership with Dr. Chris Densham's High Power Targets Group that is at the leading edge of target engineering, with the possibility of visits to CERN.
Dr Lu鈥檚 project is titled 鈥楴ext-generation neutrino experiments in nuStorm鈥� and will evaluate and optimise the nuSTORM neutrino physics capabilities for processes in and beyond the Standard Model. The student would spend time both at 糖心TV and at the RAL with the possibility of long-term visits to CERN and working alongside physicists in the CERN neutrino group.
The positions will start in Autumn 2023. Applications are now open, with a deadline of 2nd February.
Two European Research Council funding grants secured
Congratulations to Dr Rebecca Milot and Dr Matt Kenzie who have both secured European Research Council Starting Grants, following the first call for proposals under the EU's new R&I programme, Horizon Europe.
Dr Rebecca Milot has been awarded 鈧�2,473,363 to investigate one of the most promising new materials for solar energy conversion, metal halide perovskites.
Dr Matt Kenzie's award of 鈧�1,490,202 will aim to enhance our understanding of the physics underpinning the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe, which is fundamental in explaining how our universe arrived at its present state.
The Department of Physics is delighted to host two highly-prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellows.
Heather Cegla will join the Astronomy and Astrophysics group working on the project "A Pathway to the Confirmation and Characterisation of Habitable Alien Worlds", and Benjamin Richards will join EPP to work on the "Search for diffuse supernova background in Gd based water Cherenkov experiments".